His personal life
Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902.
When his parents divorced, his father moved to mexico
and Hughes spent his first thirteen years of life living with
his grandmother. At that time he then moved to Lincoln,
Illinois to live with his mother and her husband. He also
traveled many places throughout his life mainly for the
purposes of the jobs he had. In 1923, he traveled abroad on freighter to six countries in Africa, then later Italy and France then Russia and Spain. Langston obtained a scholarship and finished his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1929. He died of prostate cancer in 1967 in New York. To honor him New York preserved his residence in memory and renamed East 127st. after him.
His Writings and inspirations
Langston Hughes poetry, itself was based from the
inspiration of Jazz music. Because of his inspiration
he would usually go to D.C to attend Blues and Jazz
clubs.He was mainly known for his insightful, colorful portrayles in black life in the U.S from the 20s- 60s. He first started writing poetry while in Lincoln, Illinois, living with his mother. In November 1924 he moved to D.C a published his first book The Weary Blues. By 1930 he made his first novel Not Without Laughter, and won a harmon gold medal for his liturature.
Other occupations
Throughout his life Hughes had many jobs that were unrelated to writing such as an assistant cook, launderer, a bust boy and a seaman. Other than poetry Langston wrote many novels, short stories, and plays. To be precise he has written 16 books of poems, two novels, three short story collections, four volumes of editorial and documentary fiction, 20 plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, 12 radio and television scripts and dozens of magazine articles.
Poem 1: Life Is Fine I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank,
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.
I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If the water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.
But It was Cold in that water! It was cold!
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above ground.
I thought about my baby
I thought I would jump down. I stood there and hollered!
I stood there and cried!
If I hadn't have been so high
I might have jumped and died.
But it was so high up there! It was so high!
So since Im still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love----
But for livin' I was born.
Though you may hear me holler
And you may hear me cry
I'll be dogged, my sweet baby
If you gonna see me die.
Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!
Poem 2: Final Curve When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself
Then you know that you have turned
All corners that are left
Poem 3: Genius Child This is a song for the genius child.
Sing it softly, for the song is wild.
Sing it softly as ever you can -
Lest the song get out of hand.
Nobody loves a genius child.
Can you love an eagle,
Tame or wild?
Can you love an eagle,
Wild or tame?
Can you love a monster
Of frightening name?
Nobody loves a genius child.
Kill him - and let his soul run wild.
Response 1:
What I understand from this poem, the author has been through so many situations and harships and has lived through each one of them that he is sure he has a purpose in life because he is still living.
Personal feeling: This poem gave me a happy mood at the end and I felt that it relates to life because sometimes we do have scary times but you feel better when you've made it through them.
Poetic devices: imagery- the poem gives you an idea of all the hardships he's been through and what kept him from dying rhyme scheme- A B C A D E F E F G H I H D E J E J K L M L N J I J O
Response 2:
In this poem from what I understand if you know who you are and know what you want and except yourself for who you are then you can accomplish all your goals in life and surpass all your fears and harships.
Personal Feeling: I felt this poem gave good advice that could be used. If you know who you are then nothing can stop you. Poetic devices: free verse- the whole poem is expressed without rhymes symbolism- yourself symbolizes the true you while all the corners that are left are the situations and hardships you'll face and get through in the future.
Response 3:
I feel that this poem reprsents of those
whom are different from others and aren't treated as eqaully as everyone else. I also feel that this poem might apply to those who maybe intelligent or good at a particular subject and may feel unloved because of the jealousy or scorn of others.
Historically I feel that he relates this poem to the hard and depressing times African Americans went through back then.
Personal feeling: I felt kind of sad and depressed when reading this but it had so much feeling to it that I think anyone would be able to relate to it's meaning.
Poetic devices: alliteration- located in the 1st stanza using the words song, sing, and softly metaphor- the genius child is said to be similar to an eagle and a monster in being wild symbolism- the genius child represents whom ever is hated at the moment rhyme scheme- A A B B A C A C D E D A A
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Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902.
When his parents divorced, his father moved to mexico
and Hughes spent his first thirteen years of life living with
his grandmother. At that time he then moved to Lincoln,
Illinois to live with his mother and her husband. He also
traveled many places throughout his life mainly for the
purposes of the jobs he had. In 1923, he traveled abroad on freighter to six countries in Africa, then later Italy and France then Russia and Spain. Langston obtained a scholarship and finished his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1929. He died of prostate cancer in 1967 in New York. To honor him New York preserved his residence in memory and renamed East 127st. after him.
Langston Hughes poetry, itself was based from the
inspiration of Jazz music. Because of his inspiration
he would usually go to D.C to attend Blues and Jazz
clubs.He was mainly known for his insightful, colorful portrayles in black life in the U.S from the 20s- 60s. He first started writing poetry while in Lincoln, Illinois, living with his mother. In November 1924 he moved to D.C a published his first book The Weary Blues. By 1930 he made his first novel Not Without Laughter, and won a harmon gold medal for his liturature.
Throughout his life Hughes had many jobs that were unrelated to writing such as an assistant cook, launderer, a bust boy and a seaman. Other than poetry Langston wrote many novels, short stories, and plays. To be precise he has written 16 books of poems, two novels, three short story collections, four volumes of editorial and documentary fiction, 20 plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, 12 radio and television scripts and dozens of magazine articles.
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank,
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.
I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If the water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.
But It was Cold in that water! It was cold!
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above ground.
I thought about my baby
I thought I would jump down.
I stood there and hollered!
I stood there and cried!
If I hadn't have been so high
I might have jumped and died.
But it was so high up there! It was so high!
So since Im still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love----
But for livin' I was born.
Though you may hear me holler
And you may hear me cry
I'll be dogged, my sweet baby
If you gonna see me die.
Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!
When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself
Then you know that you have turned
All corners that are left
This is a song for the genius child.
Sing it softly, for the song is wild.
Sing it softly as ever you can -
Lest the song get out of hand.
Nobody loves a genius child.
Can you love an eagle,
Tame or wild?
Can you love an eagle,
Wild or tame?
Can you love a monster
Of frightening name?
Nobody loves a genius child.
Kill him - and let his soul run wild.
What I understand from this poem, the author has been through so many situations and harships and has lived through each one of them that he is sure he has a purpose in life because he is still living.
Personal feeling: This poem gave me a happy mood at the end and I felt that it relates to life because sometimes we do have scary times but you feel better when you've made it through them.
Poetic devices:
imagery- the poem gives you an idea of all the hardships he's been through and what kept him from dying
rhyme scheme- A B C A D E F E F G H I H D E J E J K L M L N J I J O
In this poem from what I understand if you know who you are and know what you want and except yourself for who you are then you can accomplish all your goals in life and surpass all your fears and harships.
Personal Feeling: I felt this poem gave good advice that could be used. If you know who you are then nothing can stop you.
Poetic devices:
free verse- the whole poem is expressed without rhymes
symbolism- yourself symbolizes the true you while all the corners that are left are the situations and hardships you'll face and get through in the future.
I feel that this poem reprsents of those
whom are different from others and aren't treated as eqaully as everyone else. I also feel that this poem might apply to those who maybe intelligent or good at a particular subject and may feel unloved because of the jealousy or scorn of others.
Historically I feel that he relates this poem to the hard and depressing times African Americans went through back then.
Personal feeling: I felt kind of sad and depressed when reading this but it had so much feeling to it that I think anyone would be able to relate to it's meaning.
Poetic devices:
alliteration- located in the 1st stanza using the words song, sing, and softly
metaphor- the genius child is said to be similar to an eagle and a monster in being wild
symbolism- the genius child represents whom ever is hated at the moment
rhyme scheme- A A B B A C A C D E D A A